Late Summer Surprises (Nature takes its course)

 About a week ago I was taking a hose through the goose house (which we don't use in summer), out to the goose watering tubs in front of that barn.  My eye caught an anomaly in the corner and upon inspection it turned out to be a broody hen, settled down in the deep straw over a nest of eggs.  I rudely shooed her off the nest but when I saw about 20 eggs in the nest I knew she would be back very soon.  I've kept an eye on her since then, putting up a water bucket for her, and securing the top half of the door open so she could easily get in and out of the house for feeding time in the poultry pen.  

Today we were all beavering away on projects in the lawn and orchard area.  I had chopped a huge bed of comfrey and was hauling it to the compost pile when I heard Anne calling me, "Mom!  Mom!"  She was holding her hands cupped around something and sure enough, it was a newly hatched chick.  She had been going past the poultry yard and happened to see the teeny little thing out exploring on its own in the big wide world.  We went into the goose house and there was Mama Hen, along with 7 other newly hatched biddies.  They were scampering around in the deep bedding, learning to search for seeds and bugs and Mama had her work cut out for her, keeping track of them all.  Over in the corner were the remaining 14 eggs in the nest but Mama had abandoned them entirely, being occupied with her new little flock. I briefly contemplated getting the incubator out to try to hatch them but reason prevailed and I realized 8 new chicks was more than enough.  

The chicks have feathered legs and are much darker in color than their mama so I am fairly certain that our black bantam rooster (also with feathered legs) is the father.  But there is variation there so the other roosters might also claim some of the credit - who knows.  They will be real "mutts" of chickens with a standard mother and a bantam father.  Hopefully at least a few of them will be hens.  Eight more roosters in the poultry yard would definitely upset the equilibrium our current four roosters have.  

Looking at her sitting there like this you'd never guess there are eight little chicks under her - until out they pop!